Pianist Isabelle O’Connell and Flutronix (flutists Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull) will perform as part of Music at First on Friday, November 5th, 2010 at 7:30pm. This new music series is held at First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, located at 124 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. Tickets are $10 at the door. Contact [email protected] for more info. Directions are at www.fpcbrooklyn.org.

MUSIC AT FIRST (www.musicatfirstsite.com), curated by Wil Smith (composer who also serves as organist at First Presbyterian), occurs monthly, featuring two performers or ensembles per evening. A diverse mix of New York City’s best ensembles and performers, accessible to a wide audience of both community members and seasoned listeners, Music at First has been described by Steve Smith in The New York Times as a “vibrant, eclectic new-music series.” This season has included performances by Kyle Bobby Dunn, guitar quartet Dither, bassist Eleonore Oppenheim and sound artist Lesley Flanigan. Phthia and Slow/Fast will close the season on Dec. 3rd.

Originally from Dublin and currently based in New York, ISABELLE O’CONNELL (www.isabelleoconnell.com) is one of Ireland’s most successful pianists, with a growing international career that has taken her across four continents. Her debut CD, RESERVOIR, was recently released on the Diatribe label and features works for solo piano by nine contemporary Irish composers. Described as “the young Irish piano phenom” by the New Yorker, she has also been described by Sequenza21 as a pianist who “plays with power, clarity and commitment.” She has a reputation for being a dynamic interpreter and energetic advocate of music by 20th and 21st century composers, and is a regular commissioner of new works. In 2007, Isabelle was co-Artistic Director of “New Music, New Ireland, New York”, a concert that showcased contemporary Irish composers at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Isabelle has toured Australia and the U.S. with the CRASH ensemble, and has also performed with John Adams at Zankel Hall, Meredith Monk at the Bang on a Can Festival, Alarm Will Sound, the New Zealand String Quartet and as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Isabelle’s performances have been broadcast on television and radio on both sides of the Atlantic, including WNYC, WFMT Chicago, WQXR, BBC3 and RTE.

Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull are FLUTRONIX (www.flutronix.com), a pair of fresh and eclectic flutists who are paving the way from their classical roots to the future of music. Performing the works of notable pioneers of new music along side their own creations, Flutronix displays an innovative combination of flute and mixed media elements. Their original compositions comfortably navigate daring forms of popular, experimental, and contemporary classical music while implementing electronics and digital effects. Quickly becoming a staple in the New York City indie-classical scene, Flutronix has performed their signature act at leading new music venues including Galapagos Art Space, The Tank and The Cell. Flutronix has provided live underscoring for theatrical productions and worked with artists/ensembles of various disciplines including members of the Sirius string quartet, music producer/composer Shahla Atlas, drummer Joe Blaxx and Blind Ear Music. Their performances have been broadcast on WKCR and on WNYC’s webcast of “Battle of the Boroughs” where they competed as Brooklyn finalists.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BROOKLYN (FPC) is committed to supporting the arts in the community, and has been noted by Lucid Culture blog as as “doing double duty as comfortable neighborhood hang and avant garde central for the budget conscious.”  FPC is an open and intentionally diverse congregation, by race, culture, age, theology, and sexual orientation.

Bach-centric, about to be released by saxophonist Dave Camwell on the Teal Creek Music label, is a collection of beloved works by Johann Sebastian Bach, arranged for saxophone. Five cuts on this CD feature Camwell on soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones in multiple overdubbed tracks. Other selections include performances by Camwell with saxophonists Stephen Page, James Romain, James Bunte, and Nathan Nabb. While most of these unique arrangements have been created by Camwell, other distinguished arrangers Ron Caravan, Charlie Vetter, and Ken Abeling are also featured.

In addition to Bach-centric, Camwell has released a previous classical CD, Aeterna (2008) on the Teal Creek label to critical acclaim. Aeterna includes works by John Anthony Lennon, Niccolò Paganini, J.S. Bach, Ron Albrecht, Steven Galante, Nate Brown and Robert Schumann. Both discs were funded by grants from the Iowa Arts Council.

Dr. Dave Camwell is a distinguished, versatile and dynamic performer. He is a Yamaha and Rico Performing Artist and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Simpson College, Indianola, IA. Camwell has received degrees from the University of Calgary (B.Mus, dual degree in Jazz Studies and Education, in collaboration with Jacksonville State University), the University of Northern Colorado (M.Mus, dual degree in Performance and Education), and the University of Oregon (D.M.A in Performance with a secondary emphasis in Jazz Studies).

Camwell has over twenty publications available through Dorn Publications and the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press. His transcriptions have been performed across Canada, the United States, Great Britain and China. A notable performance of one of his transcriptions (Schumann’s Fantasiestücke) was given by James Bunte and Dr. David Riley in Carnegie Hall in 2006. He also writes a regular column for Saxophone Journal and has recorded two CD Master Classes for the publication – John Anthony Lennon’s Aeterna (March/April 2007) and Mozart’s Dissonance Quartet (January/February 2010). The Mozart Dissonance project garnered Camwell Simpson College’s Distinguished Faculty Research Award in May, 2010.

This fall, Camwell will tour with the Oasis Quartet (www.oasisquartet.com). They will be performing at the Universities of North Texas and Stephen. F. Austin, as well as well-known Milby High School in Houston, Oct 21-24. Camwell will be performing Bach repertoire featured on the Bach-centric CD at recitals throughout the Midwest starting in January, 2011 and at the North American Saxophone Alliance Region 3 Conference in March 2011.

Physical and Digital distribution for Bach-centric is available through CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon.com, and more; direct sales are available from www.TealCreekMusic.com.

DSC_5682

THE A**HOLE IN MY HEAD is Kate Dawson’s fresh reinvention of cabaret, and makes her worst enemy (herself), into a hilarious, unseen, other character. Kate and the A**hole In Her Head battle it out through song and banter in a hilarious show filled with Broadway songs and witty dialogue. This is a one night only encore performance of a show that was listed by David Noh in the Gay City News as one of the Top Ten best live performances of 2009.

Monday, August 30th @ 7PM, Birdland, 315 W. 44th, New York City

Kate Dawson played Emily for three seasons in A Christmas Carol (at Madison Square Garden), sharing the stage with several Scrooge’s over the years, including Roddy McDowall, Hal Linden, Frank Langella and Tim Curry. The production was directed by Mike Ockrent, and choreographed by Susan Stroman. Other favorite credits include “Eileen” in Wonderful Town (opposite Lucie Arnaz & Cliff Bemis, directed by Don Amendolia), “Lili” in Carnival!, “Lydia” in The Rivals and “The Wardrobe Mistress” in Enter The Guardsmen. She has worked regionally at the 7 Angels Theatre, the Coconut Grove Playhouse, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Stages St. Louis, readings at the Manhattan Theatre Club and the Public Theatre among others. The A**HOLE IN MY HEAD is the first play Kate has written.

finalcoverimage-72forweb_0

Kathleen Supove announces the release of her new CD THE EXPLODING PIANO on the MAJOR WHO MEDIA label. The CD release concert will be held on Tuesday, August 17, at Le Poisson Rouge at 158 Bleecker Street in New York City.

The concert starts at 7:30, with doors opening at 6:30.

In addition to performing music from the CD, there will be :

-Video by Joshue Ott to go with Anna Clyne’s piece ON TRACK.

-New video created live by Jennifer Stock for ISABELLE EBERHARDT DREAMS OF PIANOS by Missy Mazzoli.

-In addition, there will be a special guest, media/video artist Peter Schmideg “performing” a work he created and revised for this event, based on the performance artist Marge Cameron, and inspired by SUTRA SUTRA by Randall Woolf.

-REVOLUTION by Dan Becker will have a video specially designed for it by Safy Etiel (V.J. name: Sniper), an Israeli artist living in Berlin.

-Rounding out the show will be A SHAKING OF THE PUMPKIN by Michael Gatonska, which features his custom-designed accessories and is a video in itself.

Also: a fake fashion show, auction, contests, and…a discount on the new CD.

lakecelloturned

Innovative Song Cycle Explores Spirituality, Nature, and Gardening

New York City based cellist, vocalist and composer Jody Redhage and her band Fire in July will perform at Boston’s Kaji Aso Studio on Friday, July 23, 2010 at 8 pm. Admission is $10. Kaji Aso Studio is located at 40 Saint Stephen Street in Boston, MA. Phone is (617) 247-1719.

Fire in July is comprised of Jody Redhage, voice & cello; Daisy Press, voice; Alan Ferber, trombone; and Tom Beckham, vibraphone. At this concert, the band will premiere Redhage’s new song cycle “The Spirit of the Garden,” using poetry that explores the nexus of spirituality and nature. The lyrics are from poets from all over the world: French, Japanese, American, and middle eastern–all different traditions that celebrate gardens as an artistic medium and a source for spiritual reflection and inspiration. Kaji Aso Studio itself has been a large source of inspiration behind the song cycle, as Fire in July performed at the Studio in July 2009 and became familiarized with the art institute’s philosophy and worldview. The Studio’s mission statement includes the statement, “The value of nature is stressed as an inspirational and endless source of material” and “Art does not come from art…art comes from life.” The evening offers audience members a chance to experience nature’s inspiration as expressed through music, poetry, the visual arts (painting and watercolor) and through gardening. Before and after the concert the audience is invited to visit Kaji Aso’s own Japanese garden behind the studio and view the paintings and watercolors in the studio’s galleries. Several of the studio’s experts on Haiku will be in attendance and available to discuss their creative processes with the audience.

Called an “adventurous cello songstress” by Time Out NY, cellist, composer, and vocalist Jody Redhage is “a new music dynamo…Redhage is cultivating a repertoire of indie art song that breaches genre boundaries and makes for stirring listening” (MusicWorks Magazine). Redhage has spent the past eight years developing the ability to simultaneously sing and play rhythmically complex and intricate lines. Her passion is setting 20th and 21st century American poetry into art song, and she principally composes for her ensemble Fire in July. Redhage’s compositions meld the detail and finesse of chamber music with the energy and drive of jazz improvisation and more popular genres. With tinges of Medieval chanson and hints of Kurt Weill, Redhage creates a captivating blend of genres that simply comes across as her own unique voice.

Fire in July released their debut album Ancient Star on Sept. 15, 2009. Ancient Star has been called “a real accomplishment, refreshing and enjoyable, music that is exploring and pioneering a new style and doing so with real thought and skill” – George Grella, The Big City. Having begun composing at age 19, Jody studied composition at the University of California Berkeley and cello performance at the Manhattan School of Music. In New York, Jody continued her composition studies with Bang on a Can founder Julia Wolfe. Redhage has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, and on NBC, CBS, and ABC. Redhage’s original compositions have also been featured on several NPR stations across the country, including a recent feature of songs from “Ancient Star” on WNYC’s Spinning on Air.